Glee Maps Out Road to Nationals

Just two years into its run, Glee has earned a following of devoted fans (known as Gleeks), but everyone seems to watch the show for different reasons. Some tune in for the musical numbers, others watch to root for their favorite romantic pairing, some feel an affinity for certain characters and still others just want to see Jane Lynch's acerbic Sue Sylvester hurl insults at everyone. But whatever the reason, there's bound to be something coming up in the final six episodes of Season 2, and later on in Season 3, that should make every fan a little giddy.

This week's episode, "Original Song," saw the kids of New Directions win Regionals with two songs penned by the show's characters. The rest of the season will deal with the run-up to Nationals in New York, but there's a lot of ground to cover in between.

During the red carpet interviews the cast was pretty guarded about the details of the final six episodes of the season. Part of the reason for that was to keep some surprises for the audience, but at least part of it was also due to the fact that the show is running so behind in shooting. In fact, Morrison told us the cast hadn't even seen the script for the episode due to begin filming the next day.

"We're so backed up right now, it's kind of scary," he said. "Like, we're starting a new episode tomorrow and I haven't even gotten the script for it yet. I should be getting it tonight and I'm going to jet out of here and go home and memorize lines."

But once the panel started, which just happened to take place inside the same theater where "Original Songs" was filmed, the cast and writers did let a few tidbits slip out.

Kurt will be returning to New Directions.

Fans could probably have guessed that they'd be seeing Kurt return to William McKinley High after the Warblers of Dalton Academy were defeated at Regionals, but it hadn't yet been confirmed. Speaking about how he was dealing with being separated from the rest of the cast this season, Colfer said that he was feeling a lot like his character – missing his old friends and enjoying making new ones. Then he added: "But I'm happy to be back."

The panelists continued talking, hoping the audience wouldn't notice, but murmurs started up immediately as they gradually realized what he'd said. Finally, Colfer piped up, joking, "Oh, like you didn't know!"

Well, we do now. Thank you, Chris.

Your favorite guest stars will be back.

Glee has been able to land some pretty cool guest stars this year, and you can expect to see some of them pop up in upcoming episodes, as well as next season.

For those wondering about whether we'll see singing sensation Charice back as Sunshine Corazon, you can rest easy. She's still a part of rival glee club Vocal Adrenaline, and the competition will heat up as the groups head towards their big showdown in New York.

"Nationals is coming up," Brennan told us. "I think that's really our primary focus, with this big nationals event when they get to face their big rivals once again."

If you've seen the promos for the new episode airing on April 12, "Night of Neglect," you already know that Gwenyth Paltrow is back as Holly Holliday, Will's latest love interest. "She loves the show and we love her and she'll be back next year," Murphy said. Holly and Will look to be hot an heavy for a while, though Morrison admitted he's a fan of the pairing fans have dubbed "Wemma" (Will and Emma, for the uninitiated).

Murphy also confirmed that fan favorite Kristin Chenoweth be return later this season as April Rhodes, last seen heading off to produce her all-white version of The Wiz. We'll learn that the show was a flop (shocker), and that she'll be going on to create her own one-woman show called Crossroads. We'll also get to hear her singing an original song called "It's 10 a.m. and I'm Drunk." The song will be penned by Brennan, who also wrote the popular novelty songs "Trouty Mouth," "Hell to the No" and "Big Ass Heart" from last week's episode.

And don't think that just because the Warblers lost at Regionals we've seen the last of Blaine or the singers from Dalton. Murphy revealed that they will "have to perform at the prom." He went on to say that Kurt's new love interest may even audition for New Directions next year.

"We'll continue to mix worlds," Murphy promised.

Speaking of original songs...

"Yes, we're going to do more of those," Brennan told us.

It's no big surprise, really. Writing more original songs for the show certainly makes sense from a production standpoint. Securing the rights to license previously written songs can be expensive, especially when it comes to the big-name artists Glee loves to cover. So not only do they not have to play enormous royalties for the network broadcast, but also for subsequent DVDs, CDs and iTunes recordings.

Murphy talked in particular about being inspired by the YouTube sensation "Friday". His mention of the viral video known for its badness drew cheers from the audience as well as the cast on stage, who professed their love for it.

"I can just see that," Murphy said during the panel in regards to doing a "Friday"-like song on the show. "So we'll do that. You know, because we like to reflect pop culture."

Glee addresses Rumors.

Don't think that Glee isn't getting out of the covers business, though. One thing Murphy has been wanting to do on the show for a while is devote an entire episode to one album. Now it looks like that might actually happen. Murphy announced that the show as gotten the rights to Fleetwood Mac's album Rumors (which includes the hits Dreams, Don't Stop and Go Your Own Way), and will be featuring it in a future episode.

Fleetwood Mac's Stevie Nicks actually dropped by the set of Glee the day they filmed the scene in which Brittany, Santana and Holly Holiday (guest star Gwyneth Paltrow) performed her song Landslide. Thanks to that connection, and the fact that her fellow Mac member Lindsey Buckingham has kids who are Glee fans, the show was able to secure the rights to the whole album.

In other news of the musical kind, Murphy also expressed his desire to have an episode in which every line will be sung, and teased that an upcoming episode will feature a song by Adele.

Sue's League of Doom

Beginning in the next new episode, look for Sue to continue her crusade against the glee club with a brand new plan of attack.

"She already has gotten violent," Lynch told us on the red carpet. "So I think she's probably going to have to go to a more nuanced tact and try something else."

That something else is the League of Doom, made up of characters who hate Will Schuster, including former drama teacher Sandy Ryerson (Stephen Tobolowsky), new Vocal Adrenaline coach Dustin Goolsby (Cheyenne Jackson) and Will's ex-wife Terri (Jessalyn Gilsig).

Lynch further elaborated on Sue's nefarious plot during the panel: "What I like about this show is that crazy Sue Sylvester calls these adults to the school at midnight. And they come. I tell them – I don't even invite them, I tell them – that they're in the League of Doom and that, of course, I'm going to destroy the glee club. And I give them specific missions."

Expect to see hilarious things in weeks to come from the team Lynch calls her "trifecta of evil."